A7
Full Member
Posts: 345
Aug 12, 2021 8:12:32 GMT
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Post by A7 on Jun 23, 2024 16:29:44 GMT
I mean, Ali is an American and I would assume the majority of her customer base is also. They would typically celebrate Independence Day in July. As with any holiday, there will be people who don't celebrate Easter or Thanksgiving or Christmas. Not everyone has summer in June/July/August. But, if it doesn't work for July, but your country is decked out in RW&B at some other time of the year, it can be saved for then. I guess I thought the complaint about the color scheme was like complaining that April has pastels and December is full of red and green. It's not the same. Anyone can scrap pastels in April or red and green in December. And if you look at past kits, you expect it. It's about respect. Internationals pay much more for their kits and/or subscriptions than Americans. For example, the overseas fee increased 1 dollar (5 total) so the American fee stayed 1 dollar. Per kit. That's not even counting taxes and customs. She's not a small business selling in her own own country. She's part of an international business based in America. That's not the same. If you doubt that she has that many international customers, look at the huge amount of her DD customers - some Americans were pretty vocal about how many boxes shipped first! There is absolutely no reason for anyone at AE to only cater to the US crowd. It's not like they don't know it alienates customers. They still went ahead. It's bad business at best. Nothing prevented the team from being less in your face with the kit. Or being more inclusive, with other things like barbecues and pools. Imagine if all the companies worldwide only shipped instructions in their languages and plugs used in their countries making the appliance useless even though you paid twice as much as anyone else. You'd think they were rude, self-centered, mocking you and and many other things, and you'd be right. I'm sorry, but I hate that people try to justify that poor choice and tell internationals to play along and shut up. Please just admit it sucks. |
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paget
Drama Llama
Posts: 7,109
Jun 25, 2014 21:16:39 GMT
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Post by paget on Jun 23, 2024 17:24:20 GMT
I mean, Ali is an American and I would assume the majority of her customer base is also. They would typically celebrate Independence Day in July. As with any holiday, there will be people who don't celebrate Easter or Thanksgiving or Christmas. Not everyone has summer in June/July/August. But, if it doesn't work for July, but your country is decked out in RW&B at some other time of the year, it can be saved for then. I guess I thought the complaint about the color scheme was like complaining that April has pastels and December is full of red and green. It's not the same. Anyone can scrap pastels in April or red and green in December. Internationals pay much more for their kits and/or subscriptions than Americans. For example, the overseas fee increased 1 dollar (5 total) so American fee stayed 1 dollar. Per kit. That's not even counting taxes and customs. She's not a small business. She's a big, international business based in America. That's clearly not the same. If you doubt that she has that many international customers, look at the huge amount of her DD customers - Americans were pretty vocals about how many boxes shipped first! There is absolutely no reason for anyone at AE to only cater to the US crowd. It's not like they don't know it alienates customers. They still did it. It's rude and bad business at best. Nothing prevented the team from being less in your face with the kit. Or being more inclusive, with other things like barbecues and pools. Imagine if all the companies worldwide only shipped instructions and plugs used in their countries. You'd think they were self-centered, and many other things, and you'd be right. I'm sorry, but I hate that people try to justify that poor choice and tell us to play along and shut up. Just admit it sucks. I think this kit was also harder as it’s part of a sub people Committed to sight unseen- if you skip before you saw it just in case it was 4th of July related - now your yearly flow is messed up with the repeating cards if you care about that. I think a couple of cards and ephemera for the 4th - fine. There’s so much in the kit anyone can toss those aside and not a feel a hit and use the rest of the kit. But when it’s so 4th blue/red heavy that’s tough. |
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Post by lg on Jun 24, 2024 1:06:31 GMT
Thanks A7 😁 As an international pea I’m constantly having to put things aside or save for six months time so they relate (ie we are in winter at the moment so all the “by the pool” or “bbq” or “summer holiday vibes” items just don’t work right now!) I’m used to doing this but it is a little frustrating as the kit is less exciting when you have to automatically put half of it away for later… Matched with a low dollar (definitely not Ali’s doing, we’re almost down to our dollar being half the usd at the moment!), stupid postage costs ($20 usd or $40 aud for me to ship a few pieces of cardboard and pleather and plastic) and then you start having to really look at the value of the kit and the usability of each and every item to justify the amount you are paying to get them. So one or two embellishments/cards for July 4th, one or two usa flags etc, one or two fireworks cards (we don’t have them here a lot as they’re illegal and due to the risk of starting a bushfire) adds up to a number of items that you will NEVER USE mixed with items you can’t use for six months (summer themed) and it’s the difference between buying a kit or not. Thanksgiving items have the same effect on me as 4th July too, and the autumn colours at that time in kits are very hard to use as we are in spring! This is one reason I’ve never bought from other companies that do kits (ie elles studio whose colours and cards are way more my “style”) as the theming is not international friendly And yes I can buy digital, but I tried that and so far I have printed out a grand total of zero of the items I’ve bought to date. So in a way it’s much more cost effective even though it’s such a large price to get physical items for me personally. I suppose it’s like me asking (forcing!) peas to buy an Australia Day themed kit for January - you can still use most of it as it’s usa colours… right?!? Or a heavily religious December daily kit because that’s what some people would prefer… even if you don’t have use for half the kit that’s okay as you can use the other half or stick an embellishment over the phrase you don’t like🤗🤪 |
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camcas
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,152 
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Post by camcas on Jun 24, 2024 2:29:26 GMT
As a fellow Aussie lg….ITA |
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Post by lisacharlotte on Jun 24, 2024 3:32:40 GMT
Justify a poor choice? Every company caters to what sells, that's a sound business decision. The fact that shipping overseas costs more money isn't about disrespect. I buy things that I like that are only sold by a company in the UK. I have to pay more for international shipping and the difference in the exchange rate. I don't think I'm being disrespected because I can't get as cheap as if it were sold here. There are SBTM kits that aren't my personal favorite when it comes to themes/colors, but other subscribers love them. I expect that probably true of most subscribers.
If AE/Inked thought that they could make more money doing this another way, they would.
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Post by lg on Jun 24, 2024 4:04:05 GMT
IMO, Inked make the business decisions they do as:
1. they are one of the few companies still offering physical monthly scrapbooking friendly kits through Ali Edwards, studio calico and to a lesser extent Heidi swapp. The only other two I can think of are Elles studio (kits very themed and very usa based) and cocoa daisy (postage is an absolute rip off, kit themes are either “love or detest” for me so I can’t justify a subscription)
2. they are one of the few companies that have semi reasonable shipping for international customers
3. they are a semi professional business (unlike Kelly purkey etc) where you actually have a good chance of getting what you ordered in a reasonable time frame
and so they take advantage of the above facts in how they view and cater to international customers, ie our options are quite limited and therefore we put up and shut up about a lot of things until it gets to the point where you are getting your dd kit in February and enough of us finally have had enough to cause a huge stink about it (and don’t get me started on the poor uk peas with vat rules etc ruining their crafting lives!)
IMO.
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A7
Full Member
Posts: 345
Aug 12, 2021 8:12:32 GMT
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Post by A7 on Jun 24, 2024 6:01:34 GMT
Justify a poor choice? Every company caters to what sells, that's a sound business decision. The fact that shipping overseas costs more money isn't about disrespect. I buy things that I like that are only sold by a company in the UK. I have to pay more for international shipping and the difference in the exchange rate. I don't think I'm being disrespected because I can't get as cheap as if it were sold here. There are SBTM kits that aren't my personal favorite when it comes to themes/colors, but other subscribers love them. I expect that probably true of most subscribers. If AE/Inked thought that they could make more money doing this another way, they would. You read my post but didn't understand it. |
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Post by joteves on Jun 25, 2024 9:59:33 GMT
Has anyone bought Ali's new class STASH? I was thinking it might be a good place for me to start as I haven't done any crafting in ages and I would love to use the summer months to organise my stash and get some inspiration again. Would love to hear your opinion if you have started this workshop  |
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Post by Texas Scrap on Jun 25, 2024 14:05:35 GMT
Has anyone bought Ali's new class STASH? I was thinking it might be a good place for me to start as I haven't done any crafting in ages and I would love to use the summer months to organise my stash and get some inspiration again. Would love to hear your opinion if you have started this workshop Yes - there are several of us who commented up thread if you go back to last Tuesday when the class released. The first lesson was really helpful, as she lays out her own assessment strategy of her current stash, goals, projects, etc. Today releases class 2 where she is supposed to discuss her method and approach to organizing her stash. I already feel like it was worth the $$ and I have been scrapping for 30+ years and have taken other organizational classes. Her first hand out had 11 pages and lots of good questions and some to dos. None of it is mind blowing, but I think she lays out a helpful approach and asks some really good questions I do not always bother to think about. She has you do an assessment of your current space and then she walks you through her room. One thing I realized when I did this for myself was that I have some repeat items in multiple places (happened over time). That is a small example, but super useful to me. |
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Post by joteves on Jun 25, 2024 16:55:58 GMT
Has anyone bought Ali's new class STASH? I was thinking it might be a good place for me to start as I haven't done any crafting in ages and I would love to use the summer months to organise my stash and get some inspiration again. Would love to hear your opinion if you have started this workshop Yes - there are several of us who commented up thread if you go back to last Tuesday when the class released. The first lesson was really helpful, as she lays out her own assessment strategy of her current stash, goals, projects, etc. Today releases class 2 where she is supposed to discuss her method and approach to organizing her stash. I already feel like it was worth the $$ and I have been scrapping for 30+ years and have taken other organizational classes. Her first hand out had 11 pages and lots of good questions and some to dos. None of it is mind blowing, but I think she lays out a helpful approach and asks some really good questions I do not always bother to think about. She has you do an assessment of your current space and then she walks you through her room. One thing I realized when I did this for myself was that I have some repeat items in multiple places (happened over time). That is a small example, but super useful to me. Thanks! I've had a look at all your comments. I know Ali's classes are always good, but I have a tendency to buy them and then only do one or two classes. I feel this one is nice and short and may just be the boost I need to get back into the habit of scrapbooking. |
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Post by joteves on Jun 25, 2024 17:07:42 GMT
Thanks A7 😁 As an international pea I’m constantly having to put things aside or save for six months time so they relate (ie we are in winter at the moment so all the “by the pool” or “bbq” or “summer holiday vibes” items just don’t work right now!) I’m used to doing this but it is a little frustrating as the kit is less exciting when you have to automatically put half of it away for later… Matched with a low dollar (definitely not Ali’s doing, we’re almost down to our dollar being half the usd at the moment!), stupid postage costs ($20 usd or $40 aud for me to ship a few pieces of cardboard and pleather and plastic) and then you start having to really look at the value of the kit and the usability of each and every item to justify the amount you are paying to get them. So one or two embellishments/cards for July 4th, one or two usa flags etc, one or two fireworks cards (we don’t have them here a lot as they’re illegal and due to the risk of starting a bushfire) adds up to a number of items that you will NEVER USE mixed with items you can’t use for six months (summer themed) and it’s the difference between buying a kit or not. Thanksgiving items have the same effect on me as 4th July too, and the autumn colours at that time in kits are very hard to use as we are in spring! This is one reason I’ve never bought from other companies that do kits (ie elles studio whose colours and cards are way more my “style”) as the theming is not international friendly And yes I can buy digital, but I tried that and so far I have printed out a grand total of zero of the items I’ve bought to date. So in a way it’s much more cost effective even though it’s such a large price to get physical items for me personally. I suppose it’s like me asking (forcing!) peas to buy an Australia Day themed kit for January - you can still use most of it as it’s usa colours… right?!? Or a heavily religious December daily kit because that’s what some people would prefer… even if you don’t have use for half the kit that’s okay as you can use the other half or stick an embellishment over the phrase you don’t like🤗🤪 Although I'm in the northern hemisphere so I don't have to wait 6 months for things to relate like you do, I do understand about all the US-specific items. I also feel that they sometimes forget that we don't all celebrate the same holidays. I switched to digital a couple of years ago, when it became too expensive to pay for shipping, customs and VAT, and although I don't like it as much as physical it does give me the option of changing the colours and sometimes even altering the designs so that they work for me. I also only print what I need, and I try to use up my old stash from all the years I subscribed to the physical story kits and SBTM kits. |
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Post by Texas Scrap on Jun 25, 2024 17:26:12 GMT
Has anyone bought Ali's new class STASH? I was thinking it might be a good place for me to start as I haven't done any crafting in ages and I would love to use the summer months to organise my stash and get some inspiration again. Would love to hear your opinion if you have started this workshop Yes - there are several of us who commented up thread if you go back to last Tuesday when the class released. The first lesson was really helpful, as she lays out her own assessment strategy of her current stash, goals, projects, etc. Today releases class 2 where she is supposed to discuss her method and approach to organizing her stash. I already feel like it was worth the $$ and I have been scrapping for 30+ years and have taken other organizational classes. Her first hand out had 11 pages and lots of good questions and some to dos. None of it is mind blowing, but I think she lays out a helpful approach and asks some really good questions I do not always bother to think about. She has you do an assessment of your current space and then she walks you through her room. One thing I realized when I did this for myself was that I have some repeat items in multiple places (happened over time). That is a small example, but super useful to me. I just went through the first video of lesson 2 as well as printed out the handout (13 pages). Good, thoughtful content and it’s totally worth it for me! And I do the same thing with her classes despite good intentions. This one is practical and useful to me. I think part of what makes it so good is that Ali is going through the process for herself so the content is very intentional and you can tell she is engaged and learning as she goes. It’s a lot like how I have felt about her OG travel and Dec Daily classes that go deep on her process and intentions vs the project driven classes. I like both but for different reasons. |
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atheist
New Member
Posts: 3
Jun 25, 2024 17:49:05 GMT
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Post by atheist on Jun 26, 2024 17:49:16 GMT
IMO, Inked make the business decisions they do as: 1. they are one of the few companies still offering physical monthly scrapbooking friendly kits through Ali Edwards, studio calico and to a lesser extent Heidi swapp. The only other two I can think of are Elles studio (kits very themed and very usa based) and cocoa daisy (postage is an absolute rip off, kit themes are either “love or detest” for me so I can’t justify a subscription) 2. they are one of the few companies that have semi reasonable shipping for international customers 3. they are a semi professional business (unlike Kelly purkey etc) where you actually have a good chance of getting what you ordered in a reasonable time frame and so they take advantage of the above facts in how they view and cater to international customers, ie our options are quite limited and therefore we put up and shut up about a lot of things until it gets to the point where you are getting your dd kit in February and enough of us finally have had enough to cause a huge stink about it (and don’t get me started on the poor uk peas with vat rules etc ruining their crafting lives!) IMO. International customers are less than 1% of their customers. They do not care about you - and that is why. All of their money comes from US customers. International customers are write offs. |
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atheist
New Member
Posts: 3
Jun 25, 2024 17:49:05 GMT
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Post by atheist on Jun 26, 2024 17:51:42 GMT
Yes - there are several of us who commented up thread if you go back to last Tuesday when the class released. The first lesson was really helpful, as she lays out her own assessment strategy of her current stash, goals, projects, etc. Today releases class 2 where she is supposed to discuss her method and approach to organizing her stash. I already feel like it was worth the $$ and I have been scrapping for 30+ years and have taken other organizational classes. Her first hand out had 11 pages and lots of good questions and some to dos. None of it is mind blowing, but I think she lays out a helpful approach and asks some really good questions I do not always bother to think about. She has you do an assessment of your current space and then she walks you through her room. One thing I realized when I did this for myself was that I have some repeat items in multiple places (happened over time). That is a small example, but super useful to me. I just went through the first video of lesson 2 as well as printed out the handout (13 pages). Good, thoughtful content and it’s totally worth it for me! And I do the same thing with her classes despite good intentions. This one is practical and useful to me. I think part of what makes it so good is that Ali is going through the process for herself so the content is very intentional and you can tell she is engaged and learning as she goes. It’s a lot like how I have felt about her OG travel and Dec Daily classes that go deep on her process and intentions vs the project driven classes. I like both but for different reasons. It’s a great class and the fact that it is only $25.00 (cheap) and people keep asking for information about the class that should not be shared for free because the class content is behind a paywall. Sharing class details for free is tacky when others have paid. |
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paget
Drama Llama
Posts: 7,109
Jun 25, 2014 21:16:39 GMT
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Post by paget on Jun 26, 2024 18:14:10 GMT
I just went through the first video of lesson 2 as well as printed out the handout (13 pages). Good, thoughtful content and it’s totally worth it for me! And I do the same thing with her classes despite good intentions. This one is practical and useful to me. I think part of what makes it so good is that Ali is going through the process for herself so the content is very intentional and you can tell she is engaged and learning as she goes. It’s a lot like how I have felt about her OG travel and Dec Daily classes that go deep on her process and intentions vs the project driven classes. I like both but for different reasons. It’s a great class and the fact that it is only $25.00 (cheap) and people keep asking for information about the class that should not be shared for free because the class content is behind a paywall. Sharing class details for free is tacky when others have paid. There is nothing tacky about offering a review so others can gauge if it’s the right class for them. Based on what I’ve read I’m interested in purchasing the class so AE Will make more money, not less. The only tacky thing I see here is YOU- creating a new user just to come and tell us how awful we are. I give less than a crap about your opinion and hand slaps . The only reason I am responding is to support others having conversations on this thread. |
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Post by Lurkingpea on Jun 26, 2024 18:18:05 GMT
I just went through the first video of lesson 2 as well as printed out the handout (13 pages). Good, thoughtful content and it’s totally worth it for me! And I do the same thing with her classes despite good intentions. This one is practical and useful to me. I think part of what makes it so good is that Ali is going through the process for herself so the content is very intentional and you can tell she is engaged and learning as she goes. It’s a lot like how I have felt about her OG travel and Dec Daily classes that go deep on her process and intentions vs the project driven classes. I like both but for different reasons. It’s a great class and the fact that it is only $25.00 (cheap) and people keep asking for information about the class that should not be shared for free because the class content is behind a paywall. Sharing class details for free is tacky when others have paid. Who is sharing class content? No one here. They are sharing their opinions on the quality of the class. Which for Ali can be very hit or miss. That is why I am in this thread myself. To see what others thought about the class. No one is asking for or receiving any information about the class that is behind the paywall. |
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paget
Drama Llama
Posts: 7,109
Jun 25, 2014 21:16:39 GMT
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Post by paget on Jun 26, 2024 18:20:08 GMT
On another note, I received my AE travel stuff yesterday and it is so cute. I’m really happy with my purchase and want to book another trip this summer besides camping we are doing to use more of it! For the black plastic pieces, I cut the globe into just a circle and the hot air balloon into just a balloon so they are usable to be - more generic and a better size. My stuff also came two days faster than it said which is also a nice surprise. Did anyone get theirs? What do you think? Oh- I also got two packs of the pleather circles! I guess because one was missing the s in this (which I will still use after fixing). It’s nice they gave a whole additional pack rather than just the extra one. 👏🏻
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Post by marg on Jun 26, 2024 18:21:46 GMT
Yes - there are several of us who commented up thread if you go back to last Tuesday when the class released. The first lesson was really helpful, as she lays out her own assessment strategy of her current stash, goals, projects, etc. Today releases class 2 where she is supposed to discuss her method and approach to organizing her stash. I already feel like it was worth the $$ and I have been scrapping for 30+ years and have taken other organizational classes. Her first hand out had 11 pages and lots of good questions and some to dos. None of it is mind blowing, but I think she lays out a helpful approach and asks some really good questions I do not always bother to think about. She has you do an assessment of your current space and then she walks you through her room. One thing I realized when I did this for myself was that I have some repeat items in multiple places (happened over time). That is a small example, but super useful to me. I just went through the first video of lesson 2 as well as printed out the handout (13 pages). Good, thoughtful content and it’s totally worth it for me! And I do the same thing with her classes despite good intentions. This one is practical and useful to me. I think part of what makes it so good is that Ali is going through the process for herself so the content is very intentional and you can tell she is engaged and learning as she goes. It’s a lot like how I have felt about her OG travel and Dec Daily classes that go deep on her process and intentions vs the project driven classes. I like both but for different reasons. I just watched Ali's video from last year about organizing her December Daily supplies, and found it super useful. If her class is anything like this then I think it must be really worthwhile: youtu.be/NDoDaPjJN6Y?si=bCGbNj7GbHjd4rQXI plan to sign up when I'm ready to really devote the time to it, hopefully later this summer. |
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Post by Texas Scrap on Jun 26, 2024 18:44:18 GMT
I just went through the first video of lesson 2 as well as printed out the handout (13 pages). Good, thoughtful content and it’s totally worth it for me! And I do the same thing with her classes despite good intentions. This one is practical and useful to me. I think part of what makes it so good is that Ali is going through the process for herself so the content is very intentional and you can tell she is engaged and learning as she goes. It’s a lot like how I have felt about her OG travel and Dec Daily classes that go deep on her process and intentions vs the project driven classes. I like both but for different reasons. It’s a great class and the fact that it is only $25.00 (cheap) and people keep asking for information about the class that should not be shared for free because the class content is behind a paywall. Sharing class details for free is tacky when others have paid. I offered no specific details on what was in the handouts or from the videos - just a general, broad review. I go on Goodreads all of the time for book reviews to decide if I will buy a book and see WAY more detail than anything I have offered. What I am doing is recommending a course to people who are curious about it. That is ONLY goodness for Ali's business. I know a significant amount of my class and product purchases have come because of reviews or ideas shared here. I have not seen anyone else share anything specific from the course on 2 Peas that would warrant your comments. Now, if I or someone else was offering a free version of the hand out or access to videos, that would be completely inappropriate. But I have seen neither. |
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Post by lanena on Jun 26, 2024 18:52:49 GMT
I watched all of the Lesson 2 "Stash" videos yesterday. I enjoyed seeing Ali's process, and I think I'm going to take some time to just organize my stuff over the next few days so that I can get to the supplies I most want to use for my current projects. I think this will end up saving me some time in the long run.
One thing I hope she'll address is organizing non-AE/Inked supplies. I still use traditional SB supplies, and I'm having a hard time with the mix of very different styles. I've only done pocket scrapbooking for the past 3-4 years, but I've been scrapbooking for way longer than that. It looks like Ali has already purged her older style of scrapbook supplies, but I still love the old stuff. In fact, I am considering going back to 12X12 layouts for some deeper, more detailed stories.
I am looking forward to getting my travel supplies! My husband says he's not ready to travel out of the country just yet, but we are taking day trips to the towns near us.
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Post by lanena on Jun 26, 2024 18:57:20 GMT
Also, I hope our international peas know that not everyone here is dismissive of their needs and concerns. Personally, I enjoy seeing a diversity of themes and styles from folks all over the globe. Some of my favorite scrapbookers and designers are from outside of the country. I hope we can all continue to engage in this wonderful hobby in an affordable, sustainable way.
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Post by Texas Scrap on Jun 26, 2024 19:11:30 GMT
I watched all of the Lesson 2 "Stash" videos yesterday. I enjoyed seeing Ali's process, and I think I'm going to take some time to just organize my stuff over the next few days so that I can get to the supplies I most want to use for my current projects. I think this will end up saving me some time in the long run. One thing I hope she'll address is organizing non-AE/Inked supplies. I still use traditional SB supplies, and I'm having a hard time with the mix of very different styles. I've only done pocket scrapbooking for the past 3-4 years, but I've been scrapbooking for way longer than that. It looks like Ali has already purged her older style of scrapbook supplies, but I still love the old stuff. In fact, I am considering going back to 12X12 layouts for some deeper, more detailed stories. I am looking forward to getting my travel supplies! My husband says he's not ready to travel out of the country just yet, but we are taking day trips to the towns near us. Re traditional supplies, let's keep a convo going here because I am definitely in the same situation as well. I have a shelf of 12x12 paper + related collection supplies that I need to come up with a strategy for and then there is Washi and other ad hoc stuff. I am traveling for a few weeks, so I will not be organizing stuff after today for a bit, but let's have a dialogue here to share ideas on how to mange that stuff! |
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Post by lanena on Jun 26, 2024 20:41:35 GMT
I watched all of the Lesson 2 "Stash" videos yesterday. I enjoyed seeing Ali's process, and I think I'm going to take some time to just organize my stuff over the next few days so that I can get to the supplies I most want to use for my current projects. I think this will end up saving me some time in the long run. One thing I hope she'll address is organizing non-AE/Inked supplies. I still use traditional SB supplies, and I'm having a hard time with the mix of very different styles. I've only done pocket scrapbooking for the past 3-4 years, but I've been scrapbooking for way longer than that. It looks like Ali has already purged her older style of scrapbook supplies, but I still love the old stuff. In fact, I am considering going back to 12X12 layouts for some deeper, more detailed stories. I am looking forward to getting my travel supplies! My husband says he's not ready to travel out of the country just yet, but we are taking day trips to the towns near us. Re traditional supplies, let's keep a convo going here because I am definitely in the same situation as well. I have a shelf of 12x12 paper + related collection supplies that I need to come up with a strategy for and then there is Washi and other ad hoc stuff. I am traveling for a few weeks, so I will not be organizing stuff after today for a bit, but let's have a dialogue here to share ideas on how to mange that stuff! Yes, let's keep talking about this. I spent hours and hours creating a beach layout the other day because I apparently keep my beach papers and embellishments in about six different places. I was very pleased to find older Cocoa Daisy papers and some Hampton Arts stickers for my page...but it shouldn't have taken that long! I also saw on Instagram how Denine Zielinski is organizing some of her stash. She likes being able to dump her supplies on her desk, and that's what works for me as well. She's been in the scrapbooking world for years and years, so I wonder if she still keeps any of her more traditional supplies. I have A LOT of Washi! I use it mainly in my planner, but I'd like to make it more accessible for my scrap layouts. |
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blemon
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,571
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Post by blemon on Jun 26, 2024 23:34:56 GMT
I got my travel stuff today. Bummed because there is a cut in the front of the album, like someone opened the box it was in with a box cutter and slit right through it. As someone who worked in retail for MANY years, I know you absolutely do NOT do this. You will cut the product. I opened a convo so I hope they'll fix it. The little plastic bag that held all of the plastic tag things split open and they were all over the box but all accounted for so no biggie. LOVE the mini kit. Love the album. Love everything. I will use this up easily. mom PM me your address! |
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A7
Full Member
Posts: 345
Aug 12, 2021 8:12:32 GMT
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Post by A7 on Jun 27, 2024 1:16:40 GMT
IMO, Inked make the business decisions they do as: 1. they are one of the few companies still offering physical monthly scrapbooking friendly kits through Ali Edwards, studio calico and to a lesser extent Heidi swapp. The only other two I can think of are Elles studio (kits very themed and very usa based) and cocoa daisy (postage is an absolute rip off, kit themes are either “love or detest” for me so I can’t justify a subscription) 2. they are one of the few companies that have semi reasonable shipping for international customers 3. they are a semi professional business (unlike Kelly purkey etc) where you actually have a good chance of getting what you ordered in a reasonable time frame and so they take advantage of the above facts in how they view and cater to international customers, ie our options are quite limited and therefore we put up and shut up about a lot of things until it gets to the point where you are getting your dd kit in February and enough of us finally have had enough to cause a huge stink about it (and don’t get me started on the poor uk peas with vat rules etc ruining their crafting lives!) IMO. International customers are less than 1% of their customers. They do not care about you - and that is why. All of their money comes from US customers. International customers are write offs. That's an interesting statistic. Please give me a link me to where you found it. |
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Post by lg on Jun 27, 2024 3:55:46 GMT
Thank you for the timely reminder atheist that as a minority (that 1% international clientele) I should remember to check my privilege, remain quiet about things, “stay in my lane” and not fight for equality, representation and inclusion. I recall recently that feedback from customers regarding the ae monthly kits design took it back to more 3x4 and 4x6 cards (as opposed to 3x8 and 6x8 papers) as a large number of customers who use the kits for project life didn’t like the new format… and as a result the kits starting selling out again. That was a smart move that increased the customer base for a product and meant more people starting using the product which means the company gets more money which means the designer gets more jobs which means we all benefit. Even though the feedback was negative the outcome was positive. |
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Post by joteves on Jun 27, 2024 9:41:25 GMT
I watched all of the Lesson 2 "Stash" videos yesterday. I enjoyed seeing Ali's process, and I think I'm going to take some time to just organize my stuff over the next few days so that I can get to the supplies I most want to use for my current projects. I think this will end up saving me some time in the long run. One thing I hope she'll address is organizing non-AE/Inked supplies. I still use traditional SB supplies, and I'm having a hard time with the mix of very different styles. I've only done pocket scrapbooking for the past 3-4 years, but I've been scrapbooking for way longer than that. It looks like Ali has already purged her older style of scrapbook supplies, but I still love the old stuff. In fact, I am considering going back to 12X12 layouts for some deeper, more detailed stories. I am looking forward to getting my travel supplies! My husband says he's not ready to travel out of the country just yet, but we are taking day trips to the towns near us. Re traditional supplies, let's keep a convo going here because I am definitely in the same situation as well. I have a shelf of 12x12 paper + related collection supplies that I need to come up with a strategy for and then there is Washi and other ad hoc stuff. I am traveling for a few weeks, so I will not be organizing stuff after today for a bit, but let's have a dialogue here to share ideas on how to mange that stuff! I don't really do any traditional scrapbooking anymore. I always struggled to fill up those 12x12 pages as I like the clean look. Now I do a monthly project life style album (12x12) and now and then I will include an insert that might have more of a traditional look. I rarely do 12x12 layouts, usually I cut the page down to 6x12, 9x12 or 8.5x11. I like having all my memory keeping in one album per year. My scrapbooking is also very hybrid. I do most of the work on my computer and I use digital kits for the most part, but I love included some of my older supplies and using up my stash. |
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Post by joteves on Jun 27, 2024 9:50:39 GMT
I'm sorry to only comment now (I've been out of the loop for weeks because of work) but I just had a look at the Travel release and I really like it. I love the colours and the design on the album. I don't think I will be getting anything right now, but I will probably pick up some of the digital items when they are released.
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Post by lasteve1 on Jun 27, 2024 11:58:51 GMT
A few thoughts... I haven't yet watched most of lesson 2 of the stash class but Ali still does lots of traditional layouts + her quarterly scrapbook kits include 12x12 paper so I would imagine she shares her thoughts for this. I also have a lot of my organization systems shared on my youtube channel www.youtube.com/@lindalovescreating (I have an organization playlist) including a video about papers and a video about washi tape, among other things. Sorry I would link the actual videos but I can't from this computer. As someone who is already pretty organized and shares organization content, I am still enjoying Ali's class as a different perspective and motivation to get some things reorganized. I moved into my house a little over 4 years ago and really set up my craft room back then, but since then things have fallen apart. My organization system still works for the most part, but my furniture/decor is no longer functional because my craft room has become a dumping ground for hand-me-down furnishings from other rooms as I've upgraded other spaces in my home. This fall I am hoping to film + share a full redo of my craft room, but I just don't have time right now. This class is giving me the motivation to not let everything just fall apart in the meantime (I have a tendency to let things get really bad if I know I need to do a huge redo anyways, rather than maintaining the status quo). Also not planning on engaging with the troll, and I don't have actual numbers, but I have some info and I would say that 1% "statistic" is entirely made up and not accurate. Generally I think Ali's brand is really great at taking feedback to heart and adjusting in response to it, lg pointed out a good example above. That said, it's impossible to please everyone, but I applaud their efforts. I didn't pick up anything from the travel release, although I was tempted. I will end up using some of the digitals and mix them in with my other products. I have a huge trip coming up to Europe for most of August so I plan to create an album for that, I already have a 10x8 album for it. I feel like AE might be moving away from the 10x8 size, but I'm happy I have one for this vacation because I don't think a 6x8 would be sufficient, but I don't like going bigger with travel albums because then the entire style has to change. Ultimately, though, I have soooo much stash I need to work through, including some older travel releases that I haven't entirely crushed... and lots of hopeful travel albums that I haven't started, I want to work through those first and then consider purchasing more in the future. This year I am getting all the AE subscription kits + a few kits from Cocoa Daisy... that feels like more than enough new product without picking up additional releases unless they are for specific projects that I plan to do (like WITL). Sharing things to my youtube keeps me motivated, though, so I am hoping to tackle some of these travel projects and share them over there. |
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Post by lg on Jun 27, 2024 13:24:23 GMT
lasteve1 I cannot wait to see your craft room refresh and the older travel kit stash busting - I have so many old travel kits as we’ve only just started going on holidays worth scrapping and would love some inspo. And I can totally sympathise with just stuffing items in a room as you’re going to redo it soon - it took a whole house repaint and new flooring for me to really go though a lot of what we had stored in our house that were items we didn’t actually want or need any more. Are you going to do another accent wallpaper?
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